Telephone index



May 31, 1932.

M. LIGHTER TELEPHONE INDEX Filed Feb. 25, 1950 mwb'z i'l'liitw Y rii/dab W ATTOR N EY Patented May 31, 1932 urran STATES PATENT oF IcEMALV'IN LIGHTER, or new YORK, N. .Y., ASSIGNOR 1 THE STICKLESSoonronA'rIoN, f

A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK 'rnnnrnonn rnnnx Application filed February2c, 1930. Serial in 431,414.

My invention relates to telephone indexes of the kind in which one ormore display cards, upon which telephone addresses or numbers or othertelephone data may be written or printed, are suspended from a telephonetransmitter.

More particularly stated, my invention comprehends a telephone index ofthe type just mentioned, and which is provided with a substantiallyannular supporting tablet or frame to be passedover and supported uponthe mouthpiece of the transmitter and removed therefrom as occasion mayrequire.

Reference is made to the accompanying drawings forming a part of thisspecification, and in which like reference characters indicate likeparts throughout all of the figures.

Figure 1 is partly a front elevation and partly a section, showing mydevice.

Figure 2 is a section on the line 22 of Figure 1, looking in thedirection indicated by the arrows.

A telephone transmitter 3 is provided with a mouthpiece 4. These partsbeing old and well known, they need not be described at length. They arehere shown in broken lines.

A number of index card sheets 5, carrying appropriate index initials A,B, C, D, etc. grouped preferably'as shown, are suspended by means ofrings 6, 6, from an annular tablet consisting of three annular members7, 8, 9, secured together, each made of cardboard or other appropriatesheet material having a certain degree of resilience.

This tablet is provided with two holes 10, 10, through which the rings6, 6, extend, and with a large opening 11, which is substanti allycircular and somewhat larger than the mouthpiece 4 at the greatestdiameter of the same.

The tablet carries two spacing feet 12 and 13, integral with the middlemember 8, and extending internally thereof. The spacing foot 12 isrelatively broad at the base and, therefore, comparatively rigid andwhen the tablet is in its normal position this foot rests directly uponthe mouthpiece and supports the weight of the tablet.

The spacing foot 13 is relatively narrow 59 at the base and relativelyresilient and so formed as to be flexible, and may be bent forward orbackward relatively tothe transmitter, as indicated by broken lines inFigure 2.

In order to place the tablet in position, the spacing foot 13 is bentforwardly or away from the transmitter so as to clear the lower outerportion of the mouthpiece'4; and this done the tablet is passed over themouthpiece 4, and the spacing foot 13 is straightened up,

leaving the parts as indicated in Figures 1 and 2.

1 The card sheets 5 are provided with holes 14, 14, through which therings 6, 6, extend, so that the card sheets are suspended, as shown. I

In order to remove the tablet, the spacing foot .13 is bent rearwardlyor toward the transmitter, as indicated in Figure 2, the

tablet then being easily lifted off; The operation of my device may bereadily' understood from the foregoing description. 1

Whenever the tablet is placed upon or re moved from the telephonetransmitter, the spacing foot 13 is bent outwardly or inward ly, asrequired thereby increasing the distance between the foot 12 and foot 13sufficiently to enable the opening 11 in said tablet to pass H over saidmouth piece. K

Normally with the device in use, the spacing foot 12 simply restsedgewise upon the portion of the mouthpiece immediately adjacent thebody portion of the transmitter. Thus the tablet is caused to rest closeto the face of the transmitter. This provision of a i spacing foot 12about equally distant from the centre of the opening 11 gives asymmetrical appearance to the device, Which takes up very little room. 7

For reasons based upon sanitary grounds and for the sake of cleanlinessand good appearance, more than one tablet may be kept on hand, and'thetablets may be renewed quite frequently. However, they are adapted tolast over considerable periods of time if for any reason this isdesirable.

I do not limit myself to the precise mechanism shown, as variationsmaybe made therefrom wlthout departlng from my invention,

, lower end of said opening carried by said the scope of which iscommensurate with my claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is as follows 1. In a telephone'indeX, thecombination,

with index card sheet-s, and a normally vertically disposed tablet forsupporting the same in a vertical position, said tablet having anopening for the mouth piece of the telephone transmitter to passtherethrough, of a substantially resilient spacing foot at the tabletand normally extending into said opening in order'normally to engagesaid mouth piece to prevent accidental disengagement of the tablet fromsaid mouth piece, and means at the upper end of said opening to supportthereon the tablet in position on said mouthpiece, said foot and saidmeans he ing'symmetrically disposed with relation to said opening. i

2. In a telephone index, the combination, with index card sheets, and anormally vertically disposed tablet for supporting the same in avertical position, saidtablet having n opening for the mouth piece ofthe telephone transmitter to pass therethrough, of a substantiallyresilient spacing foot at the lower end of said opening carried by saidtablet and normally extending into said opening in order normally toengage said mouth piece to prevent accidental disengagement of thetablet from said mouth piece, and means at the upper end of said openingto support thereon the tablet in position on said mouthpiece, said footand said means being symmetrically disposed with relation to saidopening, said tablet being made up of a plurality of separatethicknesses of suitable sheet material and said spacing foot beingprovided on one of said thicknesses of sheet ma terial, said spacingfoot thereby'having a requisite degree of resilience and flexibility.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York and State of NewYork, this 1'9th'day of February, A. D. 1930, H

'MALVIN LIGHTER.

